VETERANS BURIAL ALLOWANCE - H.B. 4299 (H-3): FLOOR ANALYSIS

sans-serif">House Bill 4299 (Substitute H-3 as reported without amendment)

Sponsor: Representative Scott Shackleton

House Committee: Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security

Senate Committee: Local, Urban and State Affairs

CONTENT

The bill would amend Public Act 235 of 1911 to increase the maximum value of a veteran’s estate for purposes of a burial allowance, unless a county exempted itself from the increase. The bill would take effect 30 days after it was enacted.

Under the Act, if a veteran was honorably discharged and served for at least 90 days of active service, or was discharged because of a service-connected disability under honorable conditions after serving less than 90 days of active service, or a veteran’s surviving spouse, dies with an estate valued at $25,000 or less, a county board of commissioners or board of county auditors must pay $300 to the estate of the deceased person, or to the person who incurred or advanced the burial expense, upon application of the person or the administrator of the estate.

The bill would raise the estate limit from $25,000 to $40,000. The increased limit would not apply to a county if the county board of commissioners passed a resolution that exempted the county from the increase. The county would have to file a copy of the resolution with the Department of Management and Budget (DMB). The DMB would have to report at least annually to the Legislature which counties, if any, passed a resolution.

MCL 35.801 - Legislative Analyst: George Towne

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on local government. It is estimated that approximately 5,000 to 6,000 burial allowances are provided each year by counties. The increased cost to counties proposed under the bill cannot be determined due to lack of data relating to the distribution of estate values among veterans.

Date Completed: 12-15-03 - Fiscal Analyst: Bruce BakerFloor\hb4299 - Bill Analysis @ www.senate.michigan.gov/sfa

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.